Talking Points:

• Addiction is now considered a disease that changes the brain. To prevent this disease and understand how to treat it, it’s important for everyone to understand how addictions form.
• Psychologists are still researching the nature of each type of addiction, one thing is certain: The brain responds to all sorts of pleasurable substances or activities in a similar way. So that can mean drugs and alcohol or things like eating and shopping.
• No matter what causes pleasure, the brain registers it by releasing dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, which is a cluster of nerve cells in the middle of the brain, beneath the cerebral cortex. The likelihood of becoming addicted to a particular substance or behavior depends on how quickly it increases the dopamine levels in the brain.
• Over time, our brains “turn down the volume” on dopamine release. This ultimately requires more and more of a drug or addictive activity to get the same amount of dopamine released that would have been before addiction set in.
• Steps to overcome addiction:
  • Admit you have an addiction and want to get past it, you have to establish why you want to quit.
  • Develop a realistic action plan. Wean yourself from your addiction slowly.
  • Identify your triggers. A trigger is anything that causes you to think of your addiction and might cause you to relapse.
  • Find something to replace your addiction. Once your addiction is gone, you may find it difficult to fill your time.
  • Distance yourself as much as you can from your addiction. Admit your problem to yourself and to a trusted friend or confidant.

This topic is adapted from the Thoughty2 YouTube channel.

Talking Points:

• Everyone has some type of void to fill. addictions often end up filling the voids. It can be much easier to drink too much on the weekend instead of dealing with life’s stress in healthy ways.
• One of the hardest things for someone struggling with addiction to do is admit they aren’t in control. To truly change an ingrained habit or behavior, one must be willing to do anything to get better.
• Many people believe that surrender means defeat, but nothing could be further from the truth. Replacing bad habits with good habits is a crucial step toward recovery.

Talking Points:

• When trying to break an addiction, one needs to be real with who they really are. Look in the mirror and see yourself clothed in all your bad habits and flaws if necessary. This process allows a more realistic perspective that enables someone to clearly identify problems.
• The next step in this journey is getting real about the addiction with others. Confession will begin to clear out that space in your heart for healing and provides accountability.

Talking Points:

• Addiction may have consumed you at one point, but walking close to another person while they make that journey can be the cement in your own recovery.
• If you have gone through an addiction and moved beyond it into recovery, you have an incredible opportunity to serve others. Not only do you have vital knowledge of what another person is going through, you can also spot the holes in the road.
• Finding purpose and helping others is a key to solidifying recovery. Look for those opportunities to help other people, especially those that are trying to climb to where you are.

Talking Points:

• The only way to overcome addictions is by finding other sources of happiness in the three of the following ways:
  • Deep human bonding. Focus on spending more time with real people, rather than on trying to connect with people over social media.
  • Meaningful work. Most people don’t like their job. The answer is not to quit your job, but rather to find happiness in doing things you love outside of work.
  • Sculpting yourself. Go work out at the gym, work on your social skills with strangers at a party, or practice self-control when it comes to what you eat.
• Any small improvement in one or more of these three areas can really help people eventually overcome their addictions.

Talking Points:

• Alcoholism, like many addictions, does not just impact the user. Partners and children are also affected.
• Al-Anon offers a variety of programs for friends and family of an alcoholic, from conferences to local face-to-face meetings, and even virtual support meetings.
• If you are the partner of someone dealing with addiction to alcohol, it’s okay to seek help for yourself. You cannot do it on your own.

Talking Points:

• Addiction is a complex issue. It’s nothing like how the movies or TV portray it. You’ll need to research different substances and how they cause addiction.
• “Hitting rock bottom” is not easy to determine. Some people can hover right above rock bottom for months or years. Others might hit bottom and then bounce back for a while, only to return to old habits again
• As a parent, you’ll naturally wonder what you did wrong that caused your child to fall into addiction. That introspection can cost you important emotional energy.
• You can’t forget to build into your marriage or to give time and attention to your other kids as you battle through this. The best thing to do is to find professional help, both for your addicted child and for the whole family.

Talking Points:

• Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is responsible for our need to seek rewards. It is what helps you to have the motivations to seek the rewards that come with achieving long-term goals.
• Sexual stimulation is actually the most dopamine-stimulating activity we can naturally engage in. It raises dopamine levels as high as something like morphine would, and it can stay at that level for extended periods of time.
• Each time you watch porn you bombard your brain with dopamine. This can cause your body to use fewer dopamine receptors, which means you’ll need more porn to achieve the same effect.
• When you take a look at the science behind pornography addiction you see how truly detrimental it can be to your life, your sexuality, and your relationship with your spouse.

Talking Points:

• We start the mentoring “loop” by “inviting” someone into a relationship. People need investment. Just as you’ve been helped in your life, you can and should help others
• We push it forward by “investing” in our friend. One good reason you should help others is that by helping others, you yourself will grow. To tutor math, you’ve got to master the lesson first.
• We conclude the mentoring portion of our relationship by “empowering” others to go out and become mentors themselves. If you’re ready to help someone, there are a few questions to consider first: Are you healthy? Do you care about others? Are you willing to invest the time and energy to mentor?